Luther star Idris Elba is pleased people have finally started to realise how versatile he is as an actor.

Idris Elba enjoys the challenge of proving to doubters that he can do both acting and music.

The 43-year-old star has won awards for his performance skills on the small and silver screen, and he's also a fully fledged DJ, rapper and music producer. Idris already has plenty of musical material to his name, but still feels people aren't convinced of his tuneful talents.

“When someone who’s sort of respected as an actor changes lanes into music, people are like, ‘Whaaat?’ But that pressure challenges me,” he told NME. “I’m proud of both my character albums. They’re very different, but when people lay them next to each other, hopefully they’ll think, ‘Wow. Fair enough.’ I’m not doing this in a fly-by-night sort of way. I think when I release my third album, that’s when people will really start to see me as a musician and a producer.”

The multitalented hunk fantasises about recording a hip-hop album, hinting that it may be on the cards one day. For now Idris is busy basking in the success of his Golden Globe and SAG nominations. In both ceremonies he's in the running for best supporting actor thanks to his role in Beasts of No Nation, while his TV show Luther has landed him a Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie SAG nod. With so many different parts to his name, from Detective John Luther to god Heimdall in the Thor movies, Idris prides himself on being adaptable.

“I think people have started to realise,” Idris began, putting on an American accent, “’Oh my Gaaahd, this guy is versatile!’ I always ask myself, ‘Can I disappear into this role? Is it a repeat beat of something I’ve done?’ If the answer isn’t ‘yes I can’, and ‘no it isn’t’, then I won’t do it.”